The present invention relates generally to the field of sprayer equipment and more particularly, to a telescoping foamer nozzle.
The prior art related to atomizers and sprayer equipment includes the following U.S. patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,900,087 to Aronson teaches an atomizer in which the operating elements are locked when the device is not in use, thereby preventing objectionable projection of the elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,841 to Tada shows a sprayer which suctions a liquid and squirts the liquid in an atomized form by applying a pressure to the liquid. The sprayer includes a piston which defines a liquid chamber in combination with a cylinder portion. When the piston is moved into proximity to the closed end of the cylinder, the volume of the liquid chamber formed by the cylinder is minimized, thereby resulting in high pressure squirting of liquid within the chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,973 to Focaracci shows a sprayer for producing a foam from a spray of liquid and air. An interrupter is located in the path of a controlled portion of the outer periphery of a continuous stream of liquid. By controlling the amount of peripheral flow impinged upon by the interrupter in the stream periphery, turbulence is created with consequent pressure drop and ingress of counterflowing ambient air which mixed with and causes foaming of the liquid constituent of the flow.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,779 to Blake shows a device for producing foam which incorporates a porous element.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,307 to Calillahan et al. shows a dispenser which has a circular mixing chamber immediately in front of a mixing nozzle. A first channel leads into the mixing chamber from material located in a squeezable container. A second channel leads into the mixing chamber from an air space. A sieve covers the outlet channel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,233 to Foster et al. shows a nozzle assembly with a foam-inducing tube in front of its nozzle outlet orifice. A door is provided with an elongated pin having a convex tip for sealing the outlet orifice.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,031 to Neuhaus et al. shows a foaming head and includes a discharge nozzle which has a deflecting plate having passage slits which open out radially to an outlet slit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,070 to Tasaki et al. shows a foaming nozzle which is shaped so that the foam is ejected in the form of a band which may be elliptical, rectangular or triangular in shape. The foam is formed by the impingement of mist upon an inner face of the mouth of the foaming nozzle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,160 to Balderama shows a foamer nozzle which incorporates opposing pairs of spaced apart looped ribs which are in a plane downstream from the discharge orifice. The ribs are teardrop shaped in cross-section and have a pair of spaced legs which define an opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,389 to Knickerbocker shows an orifice device which incorporates a spin chamber communicating with the terminal orifice. A plurality of feed channels communicate with the spin chamber for the purpose of spinning the spray product within the spin chamber prior to discharge.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,539 to Dobbs et al. shows an assembly which incorporates a foam enhancer chamber having a plurality of ribs which define uniform openings. The ribs have flat surfaces which are perpendicular to the inner wall of the chamber for the purpose of generating foam as foam bubbles impact against the ribs to mix with air.
Despite the various developments in the prior art, there remains a need for a nozzle which can easily and reversibly switch from operation in a foam dispensing mode to operation in a spray dispensing mode.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a telescoping foamer nozzle which can be easily and reversibly switched from a foam dispensing mode of operation to a spray dispensing mode of operation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a telescoping foamer nozzle in which a foamer tube projects forward of a dispensing orifice when in the foam dispensing mode of operation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a telescoping foamer nozzle which has a relatively small number of component parts resulting in reliable long-term operation.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a telescoping nozzle which has a relatively small number of component parts which can be manufactured easily in volume resulting in a relatively low unit cost.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly hereinafter.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a telescoping foamer nozzle which; include a nozzle member which has a feed tube connected to a supply of spray material. A cap member is rotationally mounted on the nozzle member. The cap member may be rotated relative to the nozzle member from an off-position to a foam-position with continued rotation bringing the cap member to a spray-position and then a second foam-position and then to the off-position. The cap member supports a foam tube which includes a cam boss which engages a cam groove formed in the nozzle member.
Rotation of the cap member drives the foam tube. The cam groove and cam boss drive the foam tube from a retracted position in which the cap member is in the off-position and in the spray-position to an extended position projecting forward of the discharge nozzle when the cap is in the foam position. The cap includes indicia which clearly mark the off-position, foam-position and spray position and the cap is proportioned to fit flush against the nozzle in each of the operating positions.